We approached this webinar with the idea that Google’s Enhanced Campaigns update to AdWords had a lot of people asking questions, and it didn’t take long for that little hypothesis to prove correct! Watch the recording below to see Jeff Allen & Sam Owen of Hanapin Marketing, Larry Kim of Wordstream and Elizabeth Marsten of Portent answer common questions, including the title question “Are Enhanced Campaigns Going to Ruin Your PPC Accounts?”
There were so many additional questions at the end, we didn’t have a chance to get through all of them, so we extended the discussion into this week’s Heroview with Sam Owen—so check out his interview below for even more answers!
Followup Heroview questions:
Sam Owen was kind enough to sit down for #Heroview, our Twitter-based interview session, to follow up and answer some of your lingering questions from the Webinar. See what he had to say below.
@PPCHero: Thanks for joining us today, Sam. There were a lot of questions from webinar listeners that we couldn’t get to, so we appreciate this! #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Thanks for having me! Really enjoyed our webinar with @larrykim @Matt_Umbro @ebkendo and @JeffAllenUT last week! #Heroview
@PPCHero: Could you start by telling us a little bit about what we mean when we say “Enhanced Campaigns”? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Sure – Enhanced Campaigns is Google’s name for recent changes to AdWords campaigns that will combine a ton of features into one campaign. Mobile/tablet/desktop, geo targeting etc. will all be in one place – the idea is simplicity. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Well said @SamOwenPPC! There’s a notion that Enhanced Campaigns will be rolled out slowly as an “option” at first. Is this true? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Yep! It should be available to most accounts now – you’ll see a big message at the top of AdWords campaigns asking you to opt-in. I’ve been doing this slowly so far until the new AdWords Editor is released. #Heroview
@PPCHero: To refresh everyone’s memory, @SamOwenPPC When will the update become mandatory? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Enhanced Campaigns become mandatory in June – so you have 3-4 months to get used to them. And it will be here before we all know it!
@PPCHero: How do you think the changes will affect CPC overall? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: CPC is a tricky one – My gut instinct was that it will go up in mobile at least with people throwing more $$$ that way. However @larrykim made a good point about small advertisers being able to manage smarter with ECs and so it might mean CPCs actually decrease as there is more targeted spend. I’ll err on the side of saying Google will make more. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Can you expand upon conversion cost for tablets and other mobile devices? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: First, conversion rates on mobile and desktop are not the same – unless by accident – as the user experience is so different. This means your cost/conv will also likely be different. The old way of doing it let us segment & set completely separate bids. Now we have to just do it as a %.
Also another issue is Google claiming Tablet & Desktop users convert the same. That’s nonsense really as it’s a different exp. with a m&kb vs without. We looked it up: https://www.www.ppchero.com/fact-checking-google-tablet-and-computers-are-not-the-same/ … This is probably the most contentious issue. 🙂 #Heroview
@PPCHero: There was some confusion in the webinar about setting mobile to -100% not resulting in -100%. Can you expand on that? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: It’s still very new to me – it looks like there are still some residual clicks happening. Maybe early reporting errors. I don’t know if @ebkendo would be able to chime in again later and clear it up. Odd that it’s happening though. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Is it a best practice not to use duplicate ad groups and keywords for mobile and desktop campaigns? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: In the old way – it was best to have separate Mobile & Desktop campaigns. KW & Ad group diffs would come from results. With new ECs it’ll all be in the same place. You can’t have Mobile & Desktop KWs. They are all both. You can adjust bids by device on a campaign level though. So -50% for mobile. But generally yes – very limited segmentation now. #Heroview
@PPCHero: How do you research mobile vs desktop keywords? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: You don’t anymore 😉 Seriously though – same bunch of KWs in segmented campaigns and see what the results are. #Heroview
@PPCHero: What should a client think if their PPC company hasn’t communicated about Enhanced Campaigns to date? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: My approach was to email all my clients with an overview of what was happening & how we are planning to deal with it. However an agency might not have emailed because they want to be 100% sure of their plans before passing them on. It’s wise to over communicate things so you don’t appear to get caught out – even if you are busy behind the scenes. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Do the new enhanced campaigns eliminate geo-segmentation? Can you still run separate campaigns for different statess? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: You can still run separate geo-targeted campaigns. If you offer different products/landing pages to other countries. I would recommend segmenting still. However, if you just want to bid up/down by state – ECs is the way forward. #Heroview
@PPCHero: How will enhanced campaigns affect a company that does not market based on location or time? Who will be most affected? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: The biggest impact will be mobile/desktop being combined. There are still some benefits like enhanced sitelinks though #Heroview
@PPCHero: What should someone who is about to START Geo-targeted campaigns do? Build normally and migrate later, or start with enhanced? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Build normally – then run geo report in dimensions tab and start tweaking based on Conv/Rates. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Will enhanced campaigns allow you to turn CTC on during certain hours and lead people to either a desktop or mobile site? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Part 1: Yes – you can segment Click To Call by time of day which is great. My clients with a call center are happy 🙂 right now, but once the new @adwords Editor is out, it should be easy enough to do. Fingers crossed! #Heroview
@PPCHero: Last question: Have you heard of anyone thinking about taking drastic measures in light of the update? #Heroview
@SamOwenPPC: Step back from the ledge! Haha, no not really. I think we’re all just going to roll with the punches by the sound of it. #Heroview
@PPCHero: Well that’s all from us! Thank you @SamOwenPPC for answering our remaining webinar questions for everyone. #heroview
@SamOwenPPC: No problem. Thanks for having me today! #Heroview
